Metastable Sr0.5TaO3 Perovskite Oxides Prepared by Nanosheet Processing

Metastable Sr0.5TaO3 with a perovskite structure was prepared by using layer-structured H2Sr1.5Ta3O10 by two different processes: direct dehydration and nanosheet processing, and the photocatalylic activities of the obtained structures were investigated for the evolution of H-2 and O-2 from distilled water under UV light irradiation. The average gas evolution rates were 66 mu mol h(-1) (H-2) and 1.6 mu mol h(-1) (O-2) for Sr0.5TaO3 prepared by direct dehydration, whereas those obtained by nanosheet processing were 1.26 mu mol h(-1) (H-2) and 33 mu mol h(-1) (O-2). It was shown that nanosheet processing is effective for obtaining metastable Sr0.5TaO3 with high photocatalytic activities. ((C) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009)